Nigeria’s Media Industry: Growth, Challenges, and the Fight for Copyright Protection

Nigeria's media industry is rapidly growing, led by Nollywood and the music sector. The new Copyright Act 2022 aims to protect digital works, tackle piracy, and align with global best practices.

OVERVIEW OF THE NIGERIAN MEDIA INDUSTRY

The Nigerian media industry, encompassing the film, music, art, entertainment, and content creation sectors, is the fastest-growing creative industry globally, according to thePwC Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2024-28.

Nollywood, the country’s film industry, ranks as the second most productive in the world, producing an estimated 2,500 movies annually. The music sector, on the other hand, with a diverse range of genres such as afrobeat, fuji, hip-hop, and afro-fusion, has also seen significant growth in recent years. Withover 30 million monthly listeners globally, about 500 music producers and an estimate of about 1000 record labels, the Nigerian music industry generatesover $2 billion in annual revenue, making it one of the largest music industries in the world.

Together, the motion picture and music recording industries contributedapproximately 154 billionnaira (roughly 96 million euros) to Nigeria's GDP in 2023. The industry's growth has yet to reach its peak, with PwC projecting it will generate $14.8 billion in revenue by the end of 2025.

FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE GROWTH OF THE MEDIA INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA

It is glaring that the media industry in Nigeria witnessed its most significant growth spurts in the 21st century and this can be attributed to several factors. These include:

Technological Advancement and Expansion

Digitalisation is changing every aspect of the media industry, from content production and distribution to audience targeting and revenue generation. Consequently, stakeholders in this sector are rapidly adapting to meeting changing demands and preferences. Music artists, for instance, no longer rely on Compact Discs (CD) to distribute their songs and now explore global streaming platforms to reach a wider market and earn more royalties. In 2023 alone, Nigerian musicians received over ₦25 billion (twenty five billion Naira) streaming royalties from Spoifty, representing over a 2700% increase from ₦10 million (ten million Naira) in 2018. These industry advances come down to a number of factors.

First, Artificial intelligence (AI) enables optimised content creation and distribution in Nigeria. For instance, Spotify’s use of AI DJ for music recommendations illustrates the essence of content personalisation. The DJ is a personalised AI guide that studies subscribers’ music preferences and taste, and recommends possible favourites based on its results.

Secondly, the surge in the adoption of streaming services such as Netflix, Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney, and Spotify have revolutionised the way Nigerian content is being consumed. In the early 2000s, films, music videos, and TV shows were distributed through cassettes, CDs, or television networks. With the advent of streaming services, producers now enjoy a more efficient means of distribution.

For instance, Netflix, a popular streaming service, has been instrumental in promoting Nigerian content to a global audience. These platforms adopt Subscription-based revenue models to offer their services to users for a nominal monthly or annual fee, granting them unlimited access to high-quality digital content without violating copyright laws. In 2016, before streaming platforms debuted in Nigeria, the creative sector contributed 239 billion naira to the GDP. By 2020, this contribution had surged to 730 billion Naira, marking a 205% increase.

Lastly, social media play a major role in democratising the media industry in Nigeria. Social media platforms like X, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram not only ease the distribution of digital content, but through them, anyone with access to a smartphone can reach a global audience and become a content creator. Case in point isEnioluwa Adeoluwa, popularly known as “Lip Gloss Boy,” who rose to become a leading Nigerian media personality. Today, Enioluwa is renowned for his beauty and lifestyle content on social media, and continues to attract a global audience.

Shift in Consumer Behaviour

The digital era has changed the media industry's content and mode of consumption. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, consumer preferences have shifted towards a Direct-to-consumer (D2C) model. This approach helps creatives deliver their content directly to the consumer through social media and streaming outlets, making content available anytime and anywhere on demand. Through social media algorithms and AI tools streaming services use, people’s demand for personalised content customised to their taste is met.

Stan Culture

In the Nigerian media industry, particularly the music scene, stan culture has played a significant role in shooting artists to stardom.

Stan refers to a growing phenomenon where fans, known as "stans," exhibit intense loyalty and support towards their favourite artists. This culture creates competitive dynamics among fans of different artists. It fosters engagement and keeps mainstream artists accountable, encouraging them to continuously improve their work to maintain relevance.

An example of the impact of this culture can be seen from the fanbase of leading Afrobeats artiste and Grammy winner Ayo Balogun (Wizkid) called "Wizkid FC", which has been instrumental in promoting Wizkid's music. His fans actively share and stream his songs on various platforms.

Stan culture has also influenced the way music is marketed and promoted. The "stan wars" between rival fan bases have become a common catalyst for music promotion and this reflects in the number of streams they garner across streaming platforms.

Increased investment

Following the growth and popularity of the Nigerian media, the industry has witnessed increased local and foreign investment. For instance, Netflix reportedly invested US$23.6 million in the Nigerian film industry between 2016 and 2022 while partnering with Nigerian producers to produce Indigenous Nigerian content, leading to increased employment opportunities and enhanced economic growth. Similarly, Spotify’s initiatives, such as the "Spotify for Artists" program, continue to provide resources and support to emerging artists.

Local firms and private individuals are also investing in the media industry to provide the funding needed for filmmakers and budding artists. An example is a Netflix acquired Original titled "The Black Book", directed by Editi Effiong, a Nollywood director. The film's executive producers include African startup founders and investors like Olumide Soyombo (Voltron Capital), Kola Oyeneyin, Odunayo Oweniyi (co-founder and COO of Piggyvest), Ezra Olubi (co-founder of Paystack).

COPYRIGHT ACT 2022 AS A SOLUTION TO THE CHALLENGES OF THE NIGERIA MEDIA INDUSTRY

The Nigerian media sector has undergone a seismic shift in the past decades, mainly driven by technological advancement and changing consumer habits. However, these innovations also create new challenges, such as piracy, unregulated access to digital content, a mismatch in existing enforcement strategies, and lack of copyright awareness. For instance, the Director General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission recently revealed a staggering annual loss of₦918 trillion(nine hundred and eighteen million naira) due to digital piracy. This impacts revenue streams for creatives and the government, deters foreign investment, and stifles local creativity.

One of the limitations of the old Copyright Act was its narrow scope, particularly regarding the protection of digital works. This limitation is understandable, as the Act was enacted before the digital revolution took hold, and the drafters could not have foreseen the extent of this technological advancement.

Innovative Reforms Introduced by the Copyright Act 2022

Before 2023, copyright protection in Nigeria was regulated by the Copyright Act 2004, which was inadequate to cater to the emerging trends in the creative industry. The crucial need to balance the creative explosion ushered in by digitalisation with the thorny issue of copyright protection was eventually laid to rest by Nigerian lawmakers in 2022 when they passed the Copyright Bill, which was later signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on 17th March 2023 as the Copyright Act 2022, “the“Act”.

To minimise the challenges in the media industry and lever Nigerian copyright laws to align with global best practices, the new Act introduced the following innovations.

A. Protection of Digital Works

The Act expands the definition of “copy” to include a digital copy. Thus, Section 108 of the Act defines copy as “a reproduction in any form including a digital copy” as opposed to the definition in Section 51 of the old Act. This implies that every provision in the new Act protecting copyright-protected work now extends the protection to digital copies. For example, the prohibition of sale or offer for sale or hire of any work leading to an infringement under Section 36(c) of the Act would now include digital copies of the work.

Sections 9 to 13 of the Act grant authors or copyright owners the exclusive right, either by themselves or through someone to whom they have granted authority, to avail themselves of their work to the public via wire, wireless or online means members of the public can access the work from a place and at a time independently chosen by them. Recognising the inherent infringement threats posed by such wired, wireless or online dissemination of works, the new Act expressly provides that no person shall knowingly circumvent a technological protection measure that effectively protects copyrighted work.

Lastly, the Act contains provisions that allow a right holder to seek redress in court when a technological protection measure in respect of the copyright has been circumvented. The Act also frowns at the aiding of such circumvention as Section 52 of the Act prescribes penalties for the diverse acts that may enhance circumvention.

B. Take Down Procedure for Infringing Content

The Act provides a comprehensive enforcement procedure to address online infringement cases. Per section 54 of the Act, this process begins with the copyright owner submitting a written notice to the service provider hosting the infringing content, requesting that it be removed or disable access.

Upon receipt of the notice, the Act, in Section 55 requires the service provider to notify the alleged infringer (the "Subscriber"), take down or disable access to the content, and inform the copyright owner accordingly except the service provider receives a written counter-notice from the Subscriber.

Additionally, Section 55(3) requires service providers to take reasonable steps to prevent the re-uploading of infringing content. It grants them the authority to suspend the accounts of repeat offenders for a minimum period of one (1) month. This provision provides a faster and non-litigious mode of dealing with digital copyright infringement.

C. Digital Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities

Another innovation introduced by the new Act is the provision made for blind, visually impaired or otherwise print-disabled persons, collectively described as beneficiary persons under Section 26(7)(d) of the Act, to make or obtain (through a person acting on their behalf or their primary caretaker, caregiver, or authorised entity) in an accessible format, copies of works protected by copyright, without obtaining a licence from the copyright owner. However, at all times, the beneficiary or authorised entity must have lawful access to the work.

This exception to guarantee the inclusion of persons with disabilities aligns with the WIPO Marrakesh Treaty's goals of facilitating access to published works for persons with visual impairment. It reflects an effort to bring Nigerian laws on par with best global practices and inclusion of the disabled community.

D. Enhanced Sanctions

Penalties for copyright offences have been made more stringent under the new Act to provide broader protection for copyrighted works and to strengthen enforcement by the commission. The repealed Act pegged the punishment for infringement and noncompliance between fines of One hundred thousand Naira and five hundred thousand naira (for individuals and companies, respectively), and a maximum term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months. The Act ensures that deterrence provides for more stringent penalties. It imposes a fine of at least one million Naira or a minimum term of five years imprisonment for individuals and at least two million Naira for companies.

CONCLUSION

Nigeria is home to theworld's largest young populationand continues to leverage this numeric strength to leapfrog its media industry, which has been projected to witness more groundbreaking success and attendant challenges in the coming years. For all its promises and good intentions, the Copyright Act must now prove its mettle and regulate the industry to achieve the highest standards.